The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-07-04
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OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.


l
commencement day, the mind dazzled
and dumblounded with the infinite va.
riety OF arts and sciences and languares
aud other knowledges which are in rapid
succession presented 10 our bewildered
mental vision, wo leave college at lust
master oil all arts except the supreme one
pristine and paramount art OF knowing
how best to serve our own made wants.
The old three Re made better and more
uaeful and knowing men and women,
happier and In all ways more efficient.
serving hetter tho gods and men, than all
your mulsitudinols and multlfar;ous now
tangled curriculums, so.called, Of college,
semminary, high school and what-not OF
catch penny educational establishments.
West Point produced good takers and
writer's, but when the Red Sea of battle
was to be crossed, the .ntrong practical
courage aud common sense Of the men OF
muscle who had never read word Of
tactics or manuals, leaped In and waded
through. West Point, book in hand, and
uniform unruitlsd, followed at safe dis.
lance. "a af!i q, I :
We are overruu With colleges and col.
leges, one at every crosa roads. The
woods arc full Of 'em, making Jacks and
JennieB Of all trades; masters and miss.
trefses Of none, or few q. beat. Every.
body wants to graduate hin cons and
daughters. No young person amounts 10
a row OF pins unless he or she eau show
you sheepskin-Hell named-it covers
generally but O sheep. Every summer
besides the unavoidable miseries Of sun.
strokes, potato bugs, adjaetives, and I
know not what all OF tormerts, we have
to endure more commandments than you
can shake stick at. fl; jI:y
commandments! Well named. Your
modern curriculum Of studies never gets
further than commencement. 1t Is all
Commencement; Commencement buds
that never blossom, flowers that never
swell into truitsge. We burden the air
with Commencementsp speeches that offend
gods and men, and make the auditor
grosn and sigh for rest. Weary OF it We
cry Tor change, change, radical change
Of "our gr-r.r.r eat educational system, SO
to speak," Ahem Big achool.houses, bic
taxes, big humbug. Thousands OF persons
turned out with flashed education who
cannot earn living and who don't know
low 10 do anything except to commit aui-
eide, and do that act clnmsily. Supply
exceeds demand and exact scholarship ia
under par. Smattering Of French, Latin,
Greek, German, music, botany, theology,
law, medicine, mechanics, logarithms and
mythology, not more than acatteriDg of
each and all these and o thousand biz
things besides examined coniuaedly and
iucoherently in dlsjointed masses into No.
I skulls. Result-learned idiocy and help
lessness, and enlarged poor-houaes.
May eay that what We need is to de-
moliah half our so-called instituted of
learning, and build asyiuma for helpless
graduases on their ruling. Cut the curri-
culums in two, or better still into dozen
parts, and then cut eleven parts for the
college and echool couraes. Abolish
machine methods. Go back TO the per-
patesic plan. Make bonfres of nine hun
bred and nirety-nina thousands OF the
bound impractical trash miscalled text
books, to light the way back to the good
DID paths marked out by nature and fol-
loved by the ancients, who didn't try to
know It all and more too. Revolution in
educational methods ia the great need OF
the time. What We have now was marked
out largely by ecribfsta, enpyrics and
charlatane, encouraged by spectators in
books and building materials, and fostered
by bfoad-mouthed politicians, not one OF
them eyer bad thought in harmony with
ratule. The PRIDE and vanity Of the
Ignorant who never had any college learn
ing themselves but who want to cram
their sons and Gaughtera with the Lord
sndSa what for they don't know, is, the
fruitful supply Of fools for these generators
OF uselessnees, helpleEsneea and good-for.
nothingness. s.. 81 ~ ; ).
Who can excel La Place, Newton, and
the AdmirablesCrichton in all knowledgss
| Is large enough to undertake to go
through the colleges and universities.
No ono elae is. They teach about a whole
library OF books now and break the chill.
drcn's backs carrying them. a little girl
9Th fourteen big books to puzzle her fee
BILE comprehension, and 8 little boy tod
ding along beelda her undertaking to
carry "the gathered wisdom OF thousand
yesys" on his poor, little, half.idiotic, dis.
ordered brain, are about ,as pitiiul sights
as one ever Leees-and one sees this at
every cross.foaos, in every city and town
OF America. No real excellence in Gny
one department. All superficial and in
eficieht-expressively 'sno good" Better
residing, writing and cipheIing learned as
George Warrington and Abraham Lin
coin learned them, with the necessary
concomitant, practical learning gained In
the o!d.fsshioned schools, than all this
Dlitteriu9 array Of mu!titudinous hall.
knowledgea that servo neither God nor
man, and even the devil in but sorry
fashion. II I we're called upon to-day to
paint 3 picture Of "Imhecility," I would
not represent it With low .brow, sinsll
features, and empty eays, clothed III rags,
and hngging spade or u plow, bnt rather
With the front Of Apollo and thu muscle
Of Hercules, With q bright, fierce eye,
than arms filled to OVERLOOKING with con.
fused heap Of "text books" e. Z.
PRIVATE DALzELL.2
Hoodsatld, Ohio. 3 ss53ls. -
- "BRADsTKEET's" REVIEW. 4. Z.